TRP: Jasper and Blue Wyn (Self-Righteous)
Coyote: Day 193. Jasper goes to tail Wyn and see where Wyn goes. Roddy helped Jasper disguise herself, but it took a day to put the disguise together. She bought a binder to tie down her chest and well-fitted masculine clothing to disguise her shape. She shaved the side of her head-- honestly, that probably didn't help with the disguise much, she just thought it was cool as fuck-- and she let Roddy untangle it and style it. She bought a jacket with a hood and bought a scarf for her face. It was winter, and everyone was still bundled in layers. Easy to fit in. Jasper made herself comfortable on a bench outside the tavern and stayed there as if she'd dozed off. She waited for Wynn to eventually come out. ---- Izzy: Wyn stepped outside and shivered, briefly making a grim face at the overcast sky. She flipped the hood of her cloak up, using it to shelter the blue pseudodragon laying across her shoulders, and set off, slipping her hands into her pockets. ---- Coyote: Jasper was no good at blending into the crowd. Instead, she tried to stay behind, staying out of sight, slipping between people, just beyond Wyn's vision. She was pretty fucking sure she was gonna get caught, but also pretty fucking sure she could easily get away. Bare minimum, she could see where Wyn went with the dragon. If Wyn went farther then a couple miles in any direction, that meant the pseudodragon theory about the owner being nearby was probably bogus. If she stayed within two miles, it was possible the owner was in fact nearby. Pity she didn't have her greatsword with her. It was too big. Too recognizable. All she had was a normal longsword and the knife in her hair. ---- Izzy: Wyn moved through the city taking the main roads, wandering into the market district. There were still outdoor stalls open for business, and she stopped at them here and there, picking up some root vegetables and a pricey cut of steak. Then she went on, finally slipping down an alleyway, disappearing for a moment, and when Jasper rounded the corner, she was sitting on top of a barrel, waiting, crunching on a carrot. The little dragon peered out at Jasper from under the hood and made a trilling sound. Around a bite, Wyn said, "Hey, punk," and jerked her chin up in acknowledgement. ---- Coyote: It was at this exact moment Jasper realized that, although she fully expected to get caught, she hadn't actually planned for what to do when it happened. She'd expected Wyn to fling knives at her. Or to simply try and lose her. She hadn't expected Wyn to just fucking sit down on a barrel and talk to her. "You're a real fucking difficult person, you know that?" Jasper said, and pulled the scarf down off her face. ---- Izzy: She nodded. "Oh, yeah, I've been told that." ---- Coyote: "Frankly I'm not surprised. Where you headed? I'll join you." ---- Izzy: "Well, see, I was planning on going home and making myself a nice dinner." She gestured to her bag. "But then some fucker decided to follow me, and maybe I don't want her to know where I live, right? So she's put me in a real fuckin' position, here." She looked amused. ---- Coyote: "That's a fucking pity," Jasper said. "Been there. Happened to me before, honestly. I mean... when it happened to me, though, I just, y'know, beat the snot out of the person following me and went home anyway. I guess you can't do that, though." ---- Izzy: Wyn looked her up and down. "Eh. Maybe. Seems like a lot of effort, though. She tried real hard to keep me from noticing her, is the thing, which is pretty entertaining to me. Thought I might see if she wanted something other than to be fuckin' shady and follow me around, on that off chance." ---- Coyote: "Nah," Jasper said. "Just trying to entertain you. Mission fucking accomplished, I guess. Well, since you can't head home-- since the aforementioned fucking punk is following you-- how about I buy you dinner instead?" God fucking damn, her mouth was gonna get her in trouble. This was normally where Abel would sigh and kick her, but Abel wasn't here today. "Or if you're not in the mood for that, we can see if you can take me," Jasper said, amused. ---- Izzy: "That's real cute." Wyn slipped off the barrel. "Both parts. So if I were just some woman in bar, where do you figure you'd buy me dinner?" She finished off the last of her carrot. ---- Coyote: Ah, fuck. Ah, fuck. Jasper didn't expect that to actually work. She wasn't trying to hit on Wyn, it's just that she kept... opening her mouth, and saying the the first thing that popped into her head, and apparently that was, well, fucking flirting, or something. Fucking fuck. Okay. Alright. This was fine. "Well, it'd depend. How long've you been building your evil criminal empire in Skyport? Sorry-- evil's a strong word, right. Anyway, how long you been in Skyport? Three months?"(edited) ---- Izzy: "Something like that." ---- Coyote: "Well, there's this place. Maybe you've heard of it," Jasper said. "It's called Napoli. It's pretty small, kind've a hole-in-the-wall. It's usually pretty dead. I don't think a lot of people know about it. Anyway, it's a seafood place. Roasted soft-shelled crabs seasoned with salt and pepper. Grilled tilapia dripping with garlic and butter... it's amazing. You live in a port town, you gotta eat the seafood. I'm biased as fuck, though. The place I'm from doesn't have a lot of fish. The locals here don't care for it much, though-- I suppose they're sick of it." Jasper started walking and casually nudged Wyn in the right direction.(edited) ---- Izzy: Wyn shrugged and went along with it, still looking vaguely amused by it all. "Oh, yeah, seafood in Moorland's no good, eh. Got real fuckin' tired of roast bream. Hey, I'll trust your judgment." She slipped her hands back in her pockets. ---- Coyote: "Makes sense. Hey, where the hell are you from?" ---- Izzy: "Oh, man, your buddy Goro didn't tell you? That's too bad. Figured you guys were sharing information and all." ---- Coyote: "Oh yeah, no, we're swapping notes and everything," Jasper said. "We've got a whole document. We're writing a goddamn pamphlet: Things we know about Morgan Wyn. He must've forgotten to write it down." ---- Izzy: She laughed. "I like it. Fair's fair, I've got pamphlets on you fuckers." ---- Coyote: "Really," Jasper said, amused. "Do I get to know what mine says?" ---- Izzy: "Jasper Melaine." She held up her thumbs and forefingers like she was framing something. "Second youngest Melaine child, left home seven years ago under unknown circumstances, still appears loyal to siblings but not to parents. Carries a greatsword. Excellent war paint." She glanced Jasper's way. "When not undercover trying to tail someone, anyway." As they passed by a group of rough-looking street kids sitting on a low wall, clearly eyeballing the passersby for a mark to steal from, she dropped the bag of food she'd bought in the market and kept walking. ---- Coyote: Jasper's eyes caught her dropping the bag, and she paused a moment, eyes flickering to Wyn. She watched Wyn a long moment, mouth twitching up. She wondered what else the file said. Wyn was pretty good at reading people and getting them onto her side; she had to be. They'd only talked once so far, but it already felt like Wyn had a fucking bead on her. Wyn noticed Jasper following her, bought food in the market, and used the opportunity to give it to some street rats. Like that'd score points. Impress Jasper or win Jasper over. Wyn was smart. Charismatic, too. Not a liar, but... a chameleon, maybe, the kind of person who could get along with anyone. The kind of person who could charm anyone into getting on her side. It was charming. Wyn was funny, and she was smart, and Jasper was... fucking fascinated. But she reminded herself: This is the kind of person who allies with sociopathic morons like Amren Firnash. Morgan Wyn was the kind of person who found out what you wanted, whatever you wanted, and gave it to you. Morgan Wyn could become whatever you wanted. Whatever you needed. Jasper kept walking. ---- Izzy: "So how far away is this place?" Wyn pulled her watch out of her pocket and checked it. "Might have plans later on."(edited) ---- Coyote: "Not far at all. Little over a mile south," Jasper said. "That okay? Too far?"(edited) ---- Izzy: "Nah." ---- Coyote: Huh. Jasper tucked that information away. She kept walking briskly. "Hey, so how come you dodge questions all the time? Habit? Got stuff to hide? Just trying to be mysterious? If so, it's fucking working." ---- Izzy: "You rather I lie to ya?" ---- Coyote: "I'm good either way." ---- Izzy: She chuckled. "Well, I find it a hell of a lot easier not to. Harder to keep things straight, right? Your little brother -- eh, older, but smaller -- you know what I mean -- he's the liar of he family, yeah? You probably prefer things to be a bit more straightforward. Me too." ---- Coyote: "Wyn, if I liked things straightforward, I wouldn't fucking be talking to you. But thanks," Jasper said, amused. ---- Izzy: "Hey, now." She laughed again. "I'm straightforward." ---- Coyote: "You're... practical. You're blunt. You're honest." ---- Izzy: "I am at least two of those things," Wyn agreed. "You're all three, I think. I like that." ---- Coyote: "Yeah," Jasper said, still grinning. "Fair. Anyway." Jasper waved her hand. "Not fucking... straightforward. You strike me as a person who'd be great at lying if they actually did it, which makes you fucking hard to trust. That's okay, though. Part of the appeal, maybe." They arrived at the restaurant in short order. It was relatively small, but very clean and organized, and there were only three other patrons today. Jasper settled comfortably where she usually sat, in a corner booth with her back to a wall, away from the windows. "I gotta say, I'm fucking lost on what to actually do here," Jasper said. "I expected you to, like, fucking stab me or something when you realized I was following you. Or... ditch me, or something." Funny how sitting on a barrel and waiting for Jasper to catch up to her seemed like the most obvious Wyn thing to do, yet Jasper hadn't considered it at all. ---- Izzy: Wyn sat across from her and pulled one knee to her chest to prop a boot against the edge of the table, leaning her head back idly. "Nah. Stabbing you wouldn't do any good. Losing you somewhere would just end shit. I'd rather keep it going, see what it is you're up to. What you want. Apparently --" she gestured to the restaurant -- "you wanna take me out somewhere." The she looked back at Jasper and grinned. "That tells me things. And I like knowing things." ---- Coyote: "Well, to be fair, you backed me into a fucking corner, there," Jasper said with a laugh. "I mean-- fucking same, right? My options were walk away and end things or keep it going. And you accepted." She grinned, showing her teeth. She looked at Wyn. "That tells me things." ---- Izzy: "Yeah? What's it tell you?" ---- Coyote: "That you're either bored, hungry, or broke. Hell, maybe even all three." ---- Izzy: She laughed. "Well, I was getting my dinner, so you know I was hungry. How much attention were you paying? That was some fuckin' prime filet I bought, so not broke. Bored -- maybe. You think of anything else?" ---- Coyote: Jasper kept smiling like an idiot. She tried to smooth it off her face and didn't quite manage it. "Nah. Sorry, I'm new to this 'people' thing. My brothers usually doing the talking and scheming and analytical shit for me. I mean, maybe you can tell me. If you were in my shoes, what would you infer from the situation?" ---- Izzy: Wyn dropped her boot off the table and leaned in, smiling. Her dragon shifted on her shoulders, blinking at Jasper. "So these two women come into my mead hall to talk," Wyn said. "One of them -- super sketchy. Acts like she doesn't wanna be there. The other one, though, she threatens me upfront, and then we have a nice talk, and after they leave, she comes back alone and says she wants to play a game with me. So I do. She hits on me, but then when I hit back, she books it. "While later, she shows up again, but she's all undercover and shit. I think maybe her friend sent her, because I know her friend is stuck out of town. But then I think, nah. She's alone. Like when she came back inside. I think -- this ain't a bitch with a plan." She grinned. "It's fun to see what people'll do when you fuck with their plans, but when they don't even have one and you put'em on the spot, that's when you really see what they're like. "And see, when I put Jasper Melaine on the spot, she says, well, I guess we can fight, or I can take you out for dinner." She held up two fingers and waggled them. "Jasper Melaine's instincts are less fight or flight and more fight or flirt, seems like. And I don't wanna fight, but I wonder what happens if I hit back this time -- does she fucking bolt again?" She leaned back and cocked her head to one side. "And she doesn't. I find that that pretty fuckin' interesting." ---- Coyote: Jasper was mid-drink when Wyn started talking, and she tried to swallow, coughed, and swallowed anyway. It burned going down. She hits on me, but then when I hit back, she books it. She's alone. Like when she came back inside. I think -- this ain't a bitch with a plan. Jasper Melaine's instincts are less fight or flight and more fight or flirt. God. Sometimes Jasper didn’t… directly think about things. She just acted on her gut feelings. And listening to Wyn, each word as Wyn analyzed the situation, Jasper realized: This bitch had her fucking pegged. Had her pegged better than Jasper had herself pegged, maybe. Jasper liked to climb things. The houses in Moorland often sank a few inches every year, so the owners would build them high on stilts. As a child, Jasper would often sneak out, find the tallest thing around, and climb as high as she could go, then cling to the building and lean out, surveying her territory. She’d look down past her feet and admire the distance she’d climbed. The long way to fall. That’s what talking to Morgan Wyn felt like. It felt like climbing the tallest building she could find, then looking down and suddenly realizing: Oh, fuck. She was a lot higher up than she realized. That’s why she loved heights, though. The danger. The feeling she got when her stomach dropped out. The realization that, at any moment, the ground could give way beneath her feet, dropping her into free fall. Jasper swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. “Well, give me time. I’m sure I’ll still bolt. Haven’t fucking decided yet, I guess. You’re right. Haven’t got a goddamn plan, here.” ---- Izzy: Wyn looked amused by the choking, but didn't address it. She stretched an arm out across the back of the booth, and her dragon stretched in kind, laying its forelegs out along her arm. "I mean, I'd rather you didn't bolt, but you do what you gotta do." ---- Coyote: "Yeah. Well. That's fair. Just not sure I, uh. Want to... uh." Jasper paused there, wetting her lips. She gestured. ---- Izzy: Wyn raised an eyebrow. ---- Coyote: Yeah, Jasper wasn't sure how to explain: Not sure I wanna take this farther. You're fucking fascinating, but I'm fucking terrified of you. "Like I said," Jasper said. "Not sure what my plan is. I'll stick around." ---- Izzy: She shrugged gently, so as to not disturb the pseudodragon. "Well, I would hope you wouldn't just fuckin' dine and dash on me, anyway. That's just rude." ---- Coyote: "Do I strike you as a polite person?" Jasper said."And here I thought you had me pegged." ---- Izzy: Wyn opened her mouth, then shut it. She looked down to inspect her fingernails. "See, I could say something here, but given how things went last time, I feel like it'd make you bolt after all." ---- Coyote: Jasper scoffed. "Yeah, probably. Apparently I'm more skittish than I realized. Who fucking knew." She swallowed again. Took another long drink. "So, what, when you fuck, do those things follow you into the bedroom, or what?" ---- Izzy: "Find out," Wyn said, and took a drink. ---- Coyote: Jasper's skin prickled. She felt hot all over-- and cold, too, for some reason. Moorland politics were... complicated. There were constant power struggles. People pretending to like you. People pretending to not like you. She once had a girlfriend, when she was sixteen, try to cut her throat as soon as all of Jasper's weapons were off and out of reach. The next one did it, too. It was probably bad luck, running into two assassins in a row, but Jasper had been a bit... skittish... ever since. God, she wanted to, though. "Yeah, I'm just gonna be fucking honest with you," Jasper said. "I'd love to. I'd really... really fucking love to. I, uh. Can't. Though. Like I told you before. You're wasting your breath. I'm not the kind've person you're looking to recruit. Into your guild or... otherwise."(edited) ---- Izzy: "Why don't you let me decide that?" Wyn asked. "You're exactly the kind of person I want in my guild -- you're smart, you're loyal, you're strong. Listen, people like Amren have their unfortunate uses, but people like you are the fucking backbone of my entire operation. And as for otherwise." She shrugged. "You really want me to shut up, I'll shut up. I'm not trying to talk you into anything." She pulled her leg up to prop on the edge of the table again. ---- Coyote: Yeah. Alright. That made sense. Wyn was a practical and straightforward woman. It was... kind of a relief, weirdly enough. Less pressure. Jasper settled down. “I don’t want you to shut up,” Jasper said. “I wanna keep flirting. Just not sure I wanna take my clothes off. It gonna frustrate you if I keep flirting and not putting up?” She liked the bullshit flirting.(edited) ---- Izzy: Wyn's lips twisted and she raised an eyebrow. "I don't enjoy wasting my time." She took a drink, then shrugged again. "But I guess as long as we're having fun." ---- Coyote: Jasper watched her. She couldn’t tell if Wyn was disappointed or just ambivalent. Ambivalent seemed the most likely. “Yeah, exactly. I’m not interested in wasting your time, either. I just really fucking like you.” She finished her drink; the alcohol felt warm in her gut. She wondered if she ought to just fucking blurt out that she’d never slept with anyone before. She wondered if Wyn would let her take a knife in the bedroom. Probably not. Wyn didn’t know about the charm in her hair, though. “I’ve got another game to play,” Jasper said. ---- Izzy: "Yeah, all right." Wyn shifted, getting more comfortable. Her dragon climbed down her chest, into her lap, and she dropped a hand to pet it. "Hit me." ---- Coyote: Jasper pulled the cards out of her pocket and shuffled them, eyes distant. She kept trying to think. The first night she’d stayed in the castle, that fancy elf had gotten her drunk and wanted to play some weird question game with her. Jasper was pretty sure all of his answers were full of shit, but they’d been amusing bullshit, at least. Or they could play two truths and a lie. Now that Jasper thought about it, though, maybe she wasn’t actually interested in games. And those games weren’t that interesting when you both of already told the truth. She put the cards away again. “Nah. Nah, never mind. I was gonna ask you to play a truth-telling game, but then it occurred to me I could just— y’know— fucking ask you questions like a regular person. And vice versa, I suppose.” ---- Izzy: She laughed. "You sure could. I mean, if I'm gonna lie, I'm gonna lie, right? Game or no. Do I strike you are someone who plays by the rules?" ---- Coyote: “Dunno yet. I mean, unlike you, I don’t have a hoard of spies at my back. I have no goddamn clue what kind’ve rules you play by. That’s why I’m here. Fucking curious, I guess. Here’s the thing, though.” Jasper tapped her fingers on the counter. “I’m a mercenary and a freelancer. I’m happy to work for you. I’m happy to do shit for you, depending on what it is. I’m just not sure if that... works for you. Thoughts?” ---- Izzy: "What about your Runner friends?" Wyn took a drink. "Your little brother with the snapped horn? I need loyalty, Jasper, and I think yours is divided." ---- Coyote: “Azriel? Azriel’s goal is to stay alive and in one piece. He’s gonna leave Skyport, or he’s gonna hide and see what happens, and once this blows over and wraps up he’ll be happy to side with the winner. I mean, yeah, I’m loyal to Azriel and Abel over... well, fucking anybody. But they’re not against you. That a problem? They can sit on the sidelines.” ---- Izzy: Wyn considered her for a moment. Then she shrugged. "I'd be happy to have you work a few jobs for me. You know that's gonna put you against Larkin Basha, though, right?" ---- February 20, 2019 Coyote: Jasper bit the inside of her cheek. God, this was real damn tempting. She kept telling herself: This is what Morgan Wyn does. She finds traitors and talks them into working for her. And yet… even though Jasper was fully aware that’s what was happening, even though she was fully aware this was some kind of fucking trap or trick, she couldn’t stop falling for it. She kept thinking about the information the other Runners had given her. Scar on her chest. Seems reluctant. Regrets what she’s done. Not willing to stop. Pseudodragons are watching her. Jasper was fucking fascinated. She hated it. She ground her teeth, torn. She’d never said no to anything before. Jasper just kind’ve impulsively did things. She rocked back in her chair. “Hey,” Jasper said, jerking her chin at the pseudodragons. “Those things follow you around and listen to everything you say, huh.” ---- Izzy: Wyn raised an eyebrow, looking amused by the abrupt change of topic. She scritched the blue pseudodragon on its neck, and it made a growly purring sound. "Mm, they sure do. Not a problem if I just keep my fuckin' mouth closed, though. And they're so goddamn cute, right?" ---- Coyote: “Here’s the thing. You’re right. The shady cleric bastard… Goro, or whatever… he’s sharing information with me. You’ve got your dossiers and we’ve got ours. Anyway, he told me something interesting; he told me if we kill the Queen, it’ll kill you too. So it’s understandable why you don’t want her dead. I get why you’re not willing to turn against her. You can’t. You literally can’t.” Jasper held up her finger. “Something makes me curious, though. You can’t turn on your boss because it’ll kill you, right? But for some reason, she still has these little dragons watching you. Now, if you’re really trapped, why is she doing that? Why is she watching you?” Jasper leaned in. “Here’s what I think. You’re a fighter, and you don’t want to work for her. I can see that. And the Sanguine Queen is afraid if she doesn’t watch you, you’ll find a way to stab her in the back or break her hold on you. She’s watching you, Wyn, because you’re fucking smart, and she’s afraid of you.” . She leaned a little closer, watching Wyn intently. “That means,” Jasper said very, very quietly, “There’s a way out.” Jasper leaned back again. “So no. I’m not gonna join your guild. The Graverunners are gonna find a way to break her hold on you and free you, and then once we have you safe, we’re gonna kill her.” Jasper nodded slowly. “But I get it. Until then, you have to fight us, and you have to try and stop us. So go ahead. Do what you have to do. Fight us. You and me… we’re enemies for now. But that’s okay. Because whether you fucking like it or not, I’m gonna find a way to save you.” Jasper got up, scooting in her chair. She pointed to the pseudodragon. “You’re fucking adorable,” she said, scritching under its jaw as well. She looked directly into it’s eyes. “I hope you’re listening, asshole. Because I’m fucking coming for you.” She turned to go. ---- Izzy: Wyn watched her impassively through her speech. When Jasper turned her attention to the dragon, she sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose, as as Jasper turned away, she finally responded. "Hey. Hey, Melaine, tell me something. The hell is with you Runners your obsession with saving people, huh?" she asked. "This whether you like it or not shit. Maybe I just wanna take this fucking city and move on with my life." She stood, the dragon skittering back up onto her shoulders to cling there. "You know, if you wanna fucking fight someone, I think you should just goddamn do it and stop acting like you're doing them a fucking favor in the process," she said flatly. ---- Coyote: Jasper cast her one last look back, amused. “I mean, hey. We’re gonna take down your Queen either way. And for the record— I can want to flirt with you and want to fight you. It can be both.” Better to leave it be. Jasper paid for the meal at the counter, then waited to see if Wyn was gonna follow her. "I mean, maybe I try to kill your boss, maybe you try to kill my parents, maybe we bullshit around anyway. Doesn't have to be a big deal. That okay with you? I like you fine. I'm just not gonna... fucking... pretend to be on your side when I'm not. Maybe I get killed, maybe you get killed, maybe we both live. In the meantime, we might as well fuck around. Or fight." She grinned, showing her teeth.(edited) ---- February 21, 2019 Izzy: "Great," Wyn said, in the same blunt tone, and started moving past Jasper. "Yeah, sounds like a fun time for me, fucking around with someone who won't stop talking about killing my boss, killing me, all on some self-righteous fucking quest to save a person who doesn't fuckin' want saving. Think that might just be called kidnapping, actually." She headed for the door, raising a hand over her shoulder to wave at Jasper as she pushed it open. ---- Coyote: “Hey. We can kill you too, if you want,” Jasper said, almost to herself. “Just... don’t fucking feel like it.” She doubted Wyn heard her, though.(edited) ---- Izzy: END Title: Self-Righteous. Summary: Jasper decides to disguise herself and follow Morgan Wyn. Instead, Wyn spots her, and Jasper takes her out to dinner instead. Wyn isn't amused by Jasper's determination to 'save' her, and walks away. Category:Text Roleplay